Pandemic foot pain!! Top reasons why #myfeetarekillingme during the pandemic!

 I have heard and seen so many patients over the last 3 months who think they are having foot pain due to their increased activity level.  This becomes very disheartening for the person who wants to be in shape.  You suddenly have more free time than you want. It almost is the “no excuse season” for getting into shape.  Even Dr. Henne and I, even though we are seeing patients daily and have not decreased our time in the office, but we have  a lot more time in our personal life because our kids involvement in sports and extracurricular activities is diminished.  We personally have been running, lifting and biking consistently for several months now.  Dr. Henne looks skinnier, I look the same, lol. 

So of course, if you went from doing little to a lot you may think the increase in activity is the sole reason for your foot pain.  I do agree that some people over do it and develop tendonitis: Achilles’, peroneal or posterior tibial tendonitis are the most common three we have seen in the past couple months in addition to plantar fasciitis.   But the reality is the root cause of your pain may not be just the activity.  So many people have been home, barefoot walking around their house all day. 

The barefoot walking all day in the house is one of the top reason we are seeing patients for foot pain.  If you look at your foot’s bony architecture, like on this X-ray, you will see that these 28 bones need support in all different areas.  If you don’t have enough support for example and you put too much pressure on your forefoot it is very easy to develop capsulitis under the metatarsal heads for example.  This can be very painful from the repetitive micro trauma of walking on hard surfaces with no shoes on.  Many patients come in and say they don’t want to wear their outside shoes in the house especially now during COVID-19.  I usually show them a pair of Oofos flip flops or Hoka Flip flops.  I own both of these and depending on what is going on with your feet one of these might be the correct choice for you. My Oofos I have had for about 5 years and my Hoka’s for about 4 months I love them both and they are my go to shoe gear right when I come in the house after work or on Saturday and Sunday just milling around the house.

I would recommend that if you are experiencing foot pain and have had no trauma you may want to play around with having good support on your feet around the house.  I am not saying don’t go see your podiatrist because you want to make sure there is nothing more serious happening but you can not go wrong with more support around the house.  If you want to learn about more specific foot and ankle problems visit our website at centeranklefootcare.com

The oofos will run about $50 but last for a very long time  

The Hoka’s run from $50 to about $80 on Amazon, I think I purchased mine locally for a very fair price of about $50.  The real point is that if you are walking barefoot around your house more than you normally do, you are going to develop some foot pain.  This is usually pretty reversible if just having some support while walking around your house.  

Michele McGowan DPM

Center for Ankle & Foot Care

3190 Citrus Tower Blvd Ste A

Clermont FL, 34711

Centeranklefootcare.com